


Racing

by FrozenSnares



Series: Benefits of Detention [18]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Ice Skating, M/M, family fun times
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-18
Updated: 2015-12-18
Packaged: 2018-05-07 10:40:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5453684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenSnares/pseuds/FrozenSnares
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rickon makes Shireen learn all the family traditions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Racing

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [GameOfShips Countdown to Wintertown](http://gameofshipschallenges.tumblr.com/)

“I’ve decided that this is a bad idea,” Shireen said firmly. “Like, a _really bad_ idea.”

Rickon looked over to her. He wasn’t anywhere near as bundled up as she was, only wearing a sweater and beanie, whereas Shireen was wearing a few layers of clothing. Panic was clear on her face, and Rickon couldn’t help the smirk from growing across his face. Shireen shook her head furiously, her jaw opened and closed repeatedly with unheard sounds. Shaking his head slightly, Rickon went back to his laces, pulling through them and sorting them out before tying his skates on tight. After all, Shireen wasn’t going to escape his family’s traditions now that she lived in Winterfell.

“Rickon, I’m serious,” Shireen murmured. “Maybe I should—”

Rickon reached over quickly, grabbing her firmly by the hips and dragging her across the bench toward him. “Stop worrying,” he said simply. He grabbed up her legs, putting them over his lap and lacing her skates for her. “You have nothing to worry about. My entire family is here. We all played hockey, though Sansa did that _other_ sport…”

Shireen swatted at his chest, and Rickon laughed. “But _I_ can’t do it!” she retorted.

“Sure you can,” Rickon said. He eased off her legs, standing on the thin blades beneath his feet. He held out his hands, waiting for her to lift her arms up. When she did, he pulled her to her feet. “You’re going to learn, and this is the first lesson. It’s just walking.”

Frowning, Shireen took a few steps forward. Rickon gave her an encouraging smile, letting her come to his side and take his arm. Regardless of her nervousness, Rickon was excited to finally take her ice skating. He even promised that he wouldn’t start racing any of his brothers until she knew how to move on her own. He pushed open the doors for her, letting her slowly walk into the much colder room containing the rink.

Shireen huffed out a long breath, standing firmly and putting her hands on her hips. “Okay,” she said. “What’s lesson two?”

Rickon grinned. “One foot at a time,” he said, adding on, “balancing.”

He held out his hands again, letting Shireen place her palms in his. She gripped onto him firmly, stumbling and shaking as she tried to move onto one foot. Her legs looked like they were made out of rubber, but Rickon waited patiently until she finally became comfortable with it. Shireen slowly managed it, smiling as she got more comfortable.

“Okay,” Shireen said, staring down at her feet. She looked up to meet his eyes. “Next?”

“Don’t hate me,” Rickon muttered. He leaned forward to kiss her cheek. “Next is ice.”

“No,” Shireen said immediately.

Rickon smiled, knowing that her protest was coming. “I mean, be thankful for this,” he said. “Arya threw a pair of skates at Gendry and immediately went off.”

Shireen’s eyes narrowed. “You want to throw a pair of skates at me?”

“I tied them up for you,” Rickon reminded her. “Now, let’s go.”

Grumbling and mumbling, Shireen followed Rickon up to the edge of the rink. He stepped up easily, watching his family skating past with ease. His parents were moving leisurely, arm in arm, Robb was racing Jon, Arya, and Sandor while Jeyne and Sansa gave Brynden short lessons. Mostly, they were dragging him around by his hands. Ygritte and Gendry were moving about fairly quickly, and as they passed, Rickon heard them arguing about what team had the best chances of winning this season.

Shireen gripped the wall for support. She lifted a foot without placing it in the rink. Then, she put it back on the floor. Bran and Jojen eased up behind her, and Jojen gave her a small push. Shireen yelped loudly, turning around to face them.

“Are you really that scared of ice?” Jojen asked. “Just go. It’s fun.”

“Then why aren’t you going?” Shireen asked back.

“Bran’s not in the best condition for this,” Jojen said.

Bran nodded in agreement. “We’re supervising the snacks.”

Shireen turned back to Rickon with a poorly concealed smile. “Supervising snacks sounds fun,” she said, false joy seeping into her voice. “Can I supervise the snacks?”

Rickon gave his brother an incredulous look. Bran cleared his throat loudly. “For the record, I wish I was out on the rink,” he told her. “If I could trade bodies with you, I would.”

“No, you wouldn’t,” Shireen said simply.

Bran shrugged. “That’s fair,” he conceded. “But it’s still fun. You just have to actually go.”

“Fine,” Shireen said stubbornly, taking a shaking step onto the ice. She stumbled some, but Rickon caught her by the waist. Still clutching onto the wall, Shireen gave him a worried look.

Rickon smiled, moving around to be in front of her. “Alright,” he said firmly. “The only thing you need to remember: if you’re moving, you’re gliding side-to-side; if you hold onto me, keep your feet straight, okay?”

“I guess?” Shireen looked down at her feet. 

Rickon slowly nudged her away from the wall, taking her hand. She slowly moved her feet along with him, listening to his small tips and pointers as they went along. Shireen stumbled a bit, and Rickon lifted her up every time. A few times, his siblings wandered over, offering to take her around a few times. Whenever this happened, Rickon felt Shireen’s grip tighten considerably. He sent his siblings off, hoping that Shireen would get comfortable soon.

“Want to try skating by yourself?” Rickon asked, loosening his grip.

“No!” Shireen shouted. She stumbled over her feet, taking a few quick steps and sending her balance off.

Rickon slid in front of her, taking her hands and pulling her up. He moved backwards in front of her, letting her settle down. After a short while, Shireen sighed, looking back up at him. She only just noticed that he’s been skating backwards and that sent her into a new wave of panic.

“You’re going to fall,” she said firmly. “Turn around.”

Rolling his eyes, Rickon shook his head. “I’m not going to fall.”

“Yes, you are,” Shireen repeated.

“I don’t think you realize how easy this is for me,” he told her, narrowing his eyes slightly. Shireen pursed her lips, looking for one of his family members. Catelyn was the closest, and she took Shireen’s hand. Slowly, Rickon backed away. “She doesn’t think I can actually skate,” Rickon explained, moving away, still facing them.

“I never said that!” Shireen shouted out.

“Then, you think too loudly,” Rickon called back. He yelled over to Robb, and the Starks all took the cue. Without pause, they lined up on one end of the rink, taking up a massive amount of space. Robb, Jon, Ygritte, Sansa, Sandor, Arya, Gendry, and even Ned have responded to the summons, and they all exchanged a few looks.

“Rules?” Arya asked loudly.

“Three circuits,” Jon said.

“Foul play,” Robb countered.

Ned shook his head slowly. “I swear…”

“You’re going down!” Ygritte shouted.

Rickon looked around, finding his mom ushering Shireen off the ice. Behind them, Jeyne and Brynden followed, heading for the snacks to watch the coming race. Smiling to his self, Rickon took position with his family, making a long line of Starks on the ice. He knew that this was probably going to end poorly, but it was always fun.

“Call us off!” Robb shouted at Bran.

Shaking his head, Bran leaned forward to the rink. “On your marks!” he called out. Rickon watched a few of the other skaters realize what was about to happen and scurry off the rink. “Get set… GO!”

Digging into his back foot as much as possible, Rickon launched himself forward. Surprisingly, Sansa was already far ahead, and he could hear his brothers yelling about cheating. Sprinting on the ice, Rickon tried to gain speed, but he swerved to the side when he heard Gendry and Sandor coming up behind him. They seemed to only be racing each other, not paying attention to anyone else. His father already seemed to have given up on the actual race, only worried about keeping everyone safe. Rickon kept on, watching Arya fly past him to land a solid check on Robb.

“That’s what you get for clipping me!” she called out, half-turning around and crashing into Ygritte. Both women swore loudly, falling to the ice and skidding for a long time.

Rickon eased past, careful to watch out for his brothers coming to attack. He caught Robb and Jon just ahead of him, trying to trip up the other by blocking their skates. Rickon put on some speed hoping to get ahead without harming himself, but the two fell at the same time, taking up a large amount of space.

“Shit,” Rickon swore. He tried his best at jumping over them, but crashed into the wall without being able to quickly change his momentum. Just once, he wanted a family race where they all survived to see the third lap. Scrambling out of the way, Rickon tried to distance himself from the heap of people already on the ground, as Gendry and Sandor still weren’t paying attention. They were headed straight toward the mess of Robb and Jon, and Rickon tried to keep on with the race, ignoring the massive pile of people behind him and trying to catch up to his sister.

Arya and Ygritte were also storming up from behind, but they made a wide arc around the mess of boys, laughing loudly at them. Ahead, Sansa started her final lap, speeding up straight into the pileup. Rickon watched Robb wince just as Sansa almost collided with him, but she dug her skate into the ice, spinning up into the air and landing flawlessly on the other side of them. Arya and Ygritte were just noticing this problem, and they tried to shove the other into the pileup, making them both be added to it. Instead of following them, Rickon swung around wide, knowing that he couldn’t out-sprint Sansa, but he was willing to take second.

Sure enough, Sansa sprinted past the starting line, being loudly declared victor by Bran and Jojen. Rickon met up with her at the massive pileup of bodies where his dad was already trying to help people to their feet.

“I’m sorry,” Sansa said sarcastically. “How many years is that a victory for me?”

“Just because you have a fucking toe pick!” Arya yelled back. She slowly extracted herself from the pile.

“And because Sandor cheated for you,” Robb added. He glared over to Sandor. “Seriously? Throwing her past the starting line?”

Sansa shrugged lightly. “You’re the one who called foul play,” she chided. “I’m just beating you at your own game.”

Ygritte groaned loudly, reaching down to pull Jon to his feet. Every shook their heads at Sansa, following her off the rink to let the Zamboni clean up the damage they did to the ice. Rickon followed along with them, breathing hard and finding Shireen out on the benches.

“You lost,” Shireen said simply.

Rickon shook his head, sitting down and taking an apple from his mom. “I always lose,” he told her. He took a large bite shoving it to one side of his mouth. “It’s Robb’s fault for calling foul play every year… He can’t win that way either.”

Shireen laughed. She grabbed onto Rickon’s arm, pulling him closer and leaning onto his shoulder. “So I don’t have to race you guys, do I?”

“Of course not,” Bran said from behind them. “You don’t even want to know how many cuts and bruises came out of that pileup.”

“We just make this part of our Christmas traditions,” Rickon explained. “We all get to together and have some fun before food and presents next week.”

“And in the meantime?” Shireen asked.

Rickon leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Hot cocoa and movie marathons every day.”

“Star Wars!” Gendry called out loudly.

“And Star Wars,” Rickon conceded.

Laughing, the Stark family dug into their snacks before starting their second round of ice skating. This time, Shireen was far more willing to head off on her own, skating slowly until she crashed into a wall. Rickon told her that it wasn’t the best method of stopping, but she had trouble learning any other way to do it. They soon were able to skate arm-in-arm, and Rickon paced himself to her, keeping her safe from his mischievous siblings. It wasn’t until Shireen started to shiver that Rickon thought they should head out early. He bade his parents goodbye, helping Shireen back into her boots before she drove them back to his house.

“Is it always this cold?” Shireen asked.

Rickon rolled his eyes at her. “You’ve almost been here two years,” he said simply. “Aren’t you used to it?”

“No,” Shireen said. She curled up on the couch, digging herself into a pillow. “Light a fire.”

Shaking his head at her, Rickon followed her demands. He stoked the fire up in front of the couch and located the two thickest blankets they had. Wrapping them over his shoulders, Rickon took a seat next to Shireen, bundling them up completely. Shireen hummed contentedly, wiggling about until her feet were pressed against him.

Rickon jumped away. “Your feet are fucking cold,” he told her.

“Exactly,” Shireen said, pressing back against him. “That’s why you’re going to warm me up.”

With a grin, Rickon moved back over her, squeezing her between his body and the back of the couch. Shireen grinned at him. She wrapped her arms around him to pull him closer and dug her nose into his neck. Rickon made a small hissing sound, bearing her cold skin until she reached temperature. It didn’t take long until they were both settled together on the couch, ensconced in each other with the warmth spreading throughout the room.

“Damn,” Shireen mumbled, making Rickon look down at her. “I should have asked you to make me hot cocoa, too.”

“I still can,” Rickon offered. “But it’s a long walk to the kitchen.”

“I just want to be warm,” Shireen told him, she pulled him closer. Then, she pressed her mouth to his neck. “You’re so warm.”

Rickon laughed, letting his fingers fall into her hair and combing it out. “You know,” he said slowly, “there’s a faster way to do that.”

“Really?” Shireen asked, a smile on her face.

Pulling her close, Rickon pressed their mouths together, bearing the coldness of her so he could taste her again. Shireen moaned into his mouth, creating a pocket of hot air that spread over their faces when the kiss broke. She smiled, leaning into him to turn him into her pillow. Rickon could feel her heart racing against his chest.

“It’s still a little cold,” she whispered.

“I never asked to stop,” Rickon reminded her. He grabbed her by the chin, angling his lips over hers and kissing her in the low light of the flickering fire.

**Author's Note:**

> Also, minor celebration for my one-year anniversary of writing Rickeen and posting on AO3. If you want to read the story of how/why that happened there's a post about it [here](http://frozensnares.tumblr.com/post/132279756956/nanowrimo-2015/).


End file.
